AS Media : 2015

Friday, 10 April 2015

Evaluation Question 7

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

From my preliminary task I have for sure improved many things such as my Photoshop skills.

When I started using it I didn't know anything about it but then I got to know many things like cropping and playing around with different effects. And I feel more confident by using Photoshop from now on. The most important things are when creating any magazine is your target audience. I believe that if you don’t have a target audience then your magazine will be incomplete. When making a magazine, I feel that I have to just stick with one theme or situation in my mind so nothing can go wrong at the end. When making my preliminary magazine I definitely didn't do enough research into different things and that way I felt my preliminary magazine wasn't that good but it did attract to my target audience. The one thing that went good was using of fonts; I believe that having attractive and bold fonts stands out to many audiences. The difficult thing was to structure the layout of magazine, I wanted my magazine to look realistic however I also wanted to be conventional.

My preliminary task and my music magazine are totally different to each other but they do have some similarities like on my contents page of music magazine and front page of preliminary magazine I have used color effect layout to attract audience and present in a different way. I feel that I have improved my Photoshop skills and my music magazine looks way more professional than my preliminary magazine.

Evaluation Question 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

https://prezi.com/3kqqxtghwd-0/edit/#4_95982358

Throughout the project of my music magazine, I have come across lots of new software and technologies which I haven’t previously used before.

In the beginning I had to create an account on blogger.com which is an online blog that can be created easily where a person can add any notes and coursework or even projects they want to so other people and teachers can access through and have a look at their work. I found this resource very helpful as there is no tension of sending other to other people and the work can easily be uploaded on the blog and it permits me to upload any latest expansions in my magazine, including any pictures, PowerPoint and blog entrees even.

For my task I have to carry out many researches on different features of the media. Another source is Google images where I have researched many images of different magazines and finding out how the magazine looks related to my magazine genre. I found this source very helpful as I could easily get images and information about magazine and it’s really helpful as you don’t have to go buy any magazine as you don’t always have a big selection of magazine to choose from. I easily found the images of different contents, front and double page spread magazines images related to pop genre and didn't came across any hassle.

For my task, I had to take pictures of my artist for front, contents and double age spread. I used a digital canon camera to take my photos. I borrowed a camera from school and practiced on how to use it and also got help from my teacher.

After uploading the photos onto my computer, I had to edit them and for that I've used a program known as ‘Photoshop’. This program allows me to edit my photos, changing the colors, sizes, cutting the background and whatever I wanted to do with my photos. I found it bit hard to use at first however after time to time I have got to know on how to use the basics and I was really impressed through what I have achieved by using this program.

I have used ‘Slide share’ program to placed my work onto it and that how other people can see it at any time and its really useful when you make presentations so you can easily add onto that program. And other people can comment on your work if they like it or if they want to see something different then they can easily comment on it. The presentation also includes script of the presentation underneath so if anyone wants to read that way they can easily do.

Another program I have used was Prezi which was also similar to slide share where other people can see your work however it’s created in creative way and it’s more interesting that catches audience attention as well and in there are different section where you can add your work and it’s another way of sharing your work.

Evaluation Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

Considering my music magazine, the main way I attracted my target audience was through the use of my color scheme. I used purple and pink as main colors which are typically aimed at young girls as them are my main target audience. I also used an exciting font for my masthead ‘Unplugged’ which is in bold and bright color so it stands out more on light background and that way it attracts the audience. I added a barcode, date and issue number so the magazine looks more legalistic and also it gives the audience a clear fact and the price also has been placed within the barcode.

One the contents page I have gone about attracting my audience through having a colorful circle with a story feature, I made in bright color so it directly attracts the audience. Also I've used page numbers in different style as having arrows flowing a number that also makes an interesting feature.

On my double page spread, I have gone about attracting my audience by using images of my model, Ricki, arranged in a film strip type of frame and placing two of the artist images inside to present in an interesting way.

My magazine also attracts the audience as it has the quality and doesn't seem to be child’s magazine as its more formal and appealing.

I have also gathered some feedback from some people who would want to read my magazine. I have asked them what they found interesting in the magazine and on what I can improve on. The data I have collected is shown below:

To find out what people like to have in a music magazine, I have created a chart and collected some responses from people and found that most of people want to see interviews of different artists, knowing about concerts/ gigs and having posters in a magazine that would also attracts the audience.

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my magazine are females aged between 15-17. I have chosen my magazine to target mostly on females as I would be able to talk about topics such as relationship and music etc. I have made my magazine £1.99 because I feel that it is a fair price for a monthly magazine and it’s also affordable for people who might don’t want to send a lot money on just magazine (as there are some expensive magazines around) and I just tried to make it enjoyable for the audience. For audience feedback I made a type of table that would show what they have enjoyed and what they didn't and I will be collecting all the positive and negative feedback from them. The demographic category for my magazine would be primarily category E as they are children and students. The types of people I’m trying to attract to read ‘Unplugged ‘magazine’ are people who are interested in pop stars and people who like to know the latest news about music artists. The age group I’m trying to attract are young people as these are the people who tend to listen to pop music magazines. I've taken inspiration from magazines such as ‘Billboard’ and ‘Top of the pops’ to attract my target audience as they’re a similar type of magazine and in the same genre.

For my audience I've presented a questionnaire to find out what type of music genre they prefer so I can relate it to my music magazine.

By looking at this pie chart which i made before making my music magazine, I found out that most of the people want to see a pop magazine as they like pop music.

Evaluation Question 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Through my research into Bauer media,

I found out that it’s a large European based- media company. It’s situated in Hamburg, Germany that manages a portfolio of a magazine, digital products, radio and TV stations. If I had to choose a distribution company for my magazine then I would have chosen this Bauer media. I would like to distribute through this media company because they have great success with music magazine such as ‘Kerrang’ ‘Q’ ‘Heat’ etc. From this research I also found out that not many people buy magazines which are distributed by this company because there are many more popular magazines but I believe that my magazine would catch especially young girls attention as they are my target audience. I am certain that with the help of Bauer media, my magazine could get real success and high achievement. My magazine could be marketed by different music programmes such as MTV,

smash hits, 4music etc., and it could be promoted though different stores such as Whsmith,

The works and online for example Amazon.

To find out further information on Bauer media

Clink on the link- http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/

Evaluation Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My music magazine signifies a social group consists of young teen girls between the ages of 15-17. I have used young female as my artist that represent the younger generation. I have used a positive representation in my magazine as I have used ‘Little mix’ and on those artists who are under the positive interest and most of the young people look at present young artists to get inspiration through their music. I mostly considered females so young females can look up to as an inspiration, as if they are at the same age and I showed my artist as starting from the bottom to reach on the top. I have used colors such as pink, purple, black that represent particular social group as these colors gets girl attention especially young and they are interesting to look at.

I believe that my artist represents my target audience because her age is 16 which imply that she’s young female. From her facial expressions it shows that when she glances to the side it gives connotations of innocence and the eye level of her gives connotation that she is in the same level as everyone that might takes younger audience attention and also the innocence represents as to be role model to younger audience. The way she is dressed is important, she is wearing black leather jacket with blue stripy shirt and round scarf , the Denim jacket are high in fashionable for young females at the moment.

Evaluation Question 1

In what ways does your media product use; develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media product?

My media product is a magazine of pop genre. From looking at different magazine and their target audience I realized that most of them appeals to teenagers and young adults. From looking at magazine such as ‘Top of pops’ and ‘Billboard’ etc. I felt that if I make a pop magazine, then most of the young teenagers specially girls will be willing to get it. Normally the theme of pop magazine is of eye-catching and bold. I've been asked to compare one of the pop magazines to my magazine.

The masthead of this magazine is called ‘Billboard’

that appeals to younger audience as the title has name that shows music charts however my magazine has a name of ‘Unplugged’ that shows the everything inside it is about to released. The masthead is covered with the model that shows that the magazine is popular and the masthead doesn't really matter of its being there, but my masthead is shown as its clear to see it. The color schemes they have used are bold and the main color they used is pink that goes well in a pop magazine and they have used black, and bit of blue and yellow and also white as in writing and black as it stands out more on a light color, however my music magazine has pink, purple and white are the main colors and for the writing I've used black that would standout on these colors. For my front cover and contents page I've used effects using white and pink for the front cover and purple and white for the contents as I don’t wanted my magazine to look too bold and busy by using really bright colors and in most of the real magazine light and casual colors have been used that attracts most of the teens. The existing magazine font look simple and is shown clearly in bold so the audience could understand it easily however in my magazine the font I've used is related to pop genre because the text is flowing that gives more effective look and makes the audience interested to read. The font color I've used is purple that stands out on light background. The central image of existing magazine seems to be a mid-shot and the model is wearing black that stands out on pink background however my model image is also a mid-shot and she’s wearing navy color with contrasting other blue colors as the blue color goes well with pink and purple. The cover lines of the existing magazine giving highlights on mainly to music and guidance and it doesn't have many story features , yet my story feature are similar as in design and layout, I tried not to put too many story lines otherwise it would've looked very busy and that also makes the image more stand out on the magazine. The existing magazine does have a circle box with text giving info to the audience and as same I've decided to include it into my magazine because that way the magazine looks more interesting and gets audience attention and wants them to look inside. The existing magazine also has information related to magazine in small text on top of the masthead however I've concluded information underneath the masthead on the left, so the audience can easily find what they are looking for. The existing magazine doesn't have a barcode on the front page that implies that it must be on contents page however I have a barcode on the front the page that use to scan the magazine when purchasing it and I've included it on the front page because most of the pop magazine specially got on the front page.

Mid shot

For the contents page I will be comparing my magazine to one of the ‘We love pop’ magazine. The main colors of an existing contents page are pink, white and yellow which are simple bright colors that would normally attract teenager girls however for my contents page I've used light colors such as purple, white, black and pink as I wanted the color scheme to be contrasting with the main cover. I've used black for the page numbers and for the additional info at the bottom just because then it’s clear to see on light background. And I've used the purple and pink for most of the writing as these two colors contrast with each other. The masthead is in purple color and its bold so its stands out on white background and I wanted to be simple so it’s easy to read and it will get most teenagers attention as it’s not too girly however in the existing magazine, their masthead is very simple and looks as a handwriting font and also the design goes well with the pop magazine. The existing magazine has a lot of information and features and It’s not empty from anywhere however I didn't included a lot of information because especially young teenagers would not want to read that much as it would look a lot busier. Nevertheless mine is similar to existing as I have presented my main front cover with the pages numbers and so that the existing magazine on this page, that makes the magazine more interesting and gives a lot additional information without any additional writing. The pages number makes much easier for the audience of what they are trying to find they can find it easily. I have presented a pop style box with story line at the bottom that gives some extra feature to the audience with the bold black text so it stands out more however the existing magazine doesn't have this as they already have all the features presented on the sides all together in the boxes. Another feature is an oval shape within the text and a picture of one of the fan that stating a page number where the audience can go to and find out what the fan says about the artist. All the features are on side of the magazine of my magazine so it looks professional and seen clearly.

The existing double page spread magazine has a first letter in capital so it gets reader attention, in my double page spread I also included a ‘T’ to start my interview so it catches reader attention because they add personality to the page. In my double page spread I have included a pull quote which is short just to introduce the article which is presented in existing spread as well. Another features is of mine is of that has been pull out in three columns instead of leaving them, I've added black vertical lines to split them up, that would make easy for audience to read, which also exist in existing double page spread. In my double page spread I haven’t used any caption however I've used the model pictures on the side within the film images however in existing spread the image of her on the side could see as it has been taken from previous article within the magazine of from the awards function. In my spread I have a blank space where there is a quote so it doesn't look crowded and look well organised, for my writing font, I've used San serif font so it looks simple, and also in the existing spread they have used a basic sans serif font and they kept it simple so it doesn't look too busy and text on white background stands out more.

The main image of my double page spread is on top right corner and having a picture in double page spread is important as it shows artist identity. It’s a small close up shot and she’s looking directly on the camera that catches audience’s attention and wants them to read it.

The target audience for this magazine is 14-18 because that’s the age that listens to pop music and that’s what the magazine is about. In most of the pop magazine, females are the main regulars and are shown through the feminine typefaces and lively colors. In the existing double page spread the main image using half of the page and its middle close up shot.

The colors I've used are vibrant and bright that goes very well with the pop magazine. As I have used pink and purple throughout my magazine so I have decided to use light pink so it does look to crowded and so the text stands out and easy to read. And I've used black, pink and purple and those colors contrast well with each other however on the existing spread they have used white, orange and black that are nice colors and they more appeal to older audience as adults but it wouldn't appeal to younger audience as they are light colors that won’t attract them.

Color Scheme